MAPUSA
In an urgent appeal to the public, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday emphasised the dangers of venturing into water-filled quarries, highlighting that immediate measures are being implemented to prevent further incidents.
Speaking in the Goa Legislative Assembly, Sawant announced that all quarries will soon be fenced to ensure public safety. “We have started erecting boards with warning signs and have directed the authorities to fence all the quarries,” Sawant said, addressing a query raised by Mandrem MLA Jit Arolkar during the Zero Hour.
He urged all MLAs to compile a list of quarries in their constituencies and report to the concerned deputy collector. “The process to fence the quarries will start this year,” the Chief Minister assured.
Arolkar had raised concerns about the ongoing public risk posed by abandoned quarries, noting that despite a government ban, many tourists and locals continue to swim in these hazardous areas. He pointed out that the failure of authorities to properly fence off these sites has made it easy for people to access them, resulting in several tragedies.
“There is a significant public concern as numerous tourists and locals have been found swimming in abandoned quarries,” Arolkar said, adding, “The lack of fencing has made it easy for people to enter these dangerous areas, despite the government’s ban.”
The issue of quarry safety has been a recurring one, with several young lives lost due to the allure of swimming in the deep, often deceptively calm waters of abandoned stone quarries.
